“What do you think?”

  The voice, as buttery soft as the roll, perked his appetite just as much. “About?”

  Forcing a smile, Rebecca took a breath. “Where did I lose you?”

  At the beginning.

  Then again in the middle.

  And, oh yeah. Also there at the end.

  A commotion at the front of the restaurant spared him from admitting he hadn’t paid attention to her since the moment they sat down except to make sure she ordered whatever she wanted from the menu, regardless of the price, as payment for enduring his company for a painful couple of hours.

  A blonde tornado with a brewing storm in her eyes whirled past the startled hostess, all bouncing curls and attitude, and aimed her path of destruction right at him.

  For the first time all night, he found his interest piqued, and he regretted that the woman across from him could tell. More than that, he resented she would rather grit her teeth through the interruption than lose her shot at landing him.

  He wasn’t a damn whale.

  Hadley wore jeans with blood crusted on her thigh in a sharp line. She must have cleaned one of the twin blades she often carried on her pants, which made him curious who had pissed her off enough to earn the bite of her swords. Sweat made her tee cling to her, and corgi hair stuck to her like glitter.

  Dodging the hostess, who was now calling for security, Hadley cut through the restaurant, ignoring the looks, the whispers, the pointing fingers, and slammed her palms down on his table hard enough to rattle the silverware. “We need to talk.”

  “I’m on a date,” he stated the obvious.

  “You haven’t touched your food except to play with it. Your water glass is mostly full, and I’m betting it’s your first of the night. I don’t know why you haven’t turned to booze since you’re so obviously bored out of your mind, but I get that you can’t risk getting drunk without waking up mated to goddess only knows who.”

  “We’re on a date,” Rebecca reiterated. “You’re interrupting.”

  “You’re not on a date. You’re on a recon mission. You’re trying him on to see if he fits.”

  A soft breath punched out of Midas. “That’s enough, Hadley.”

  Fierce hazel eyes captured his and dared him to ignore her. He was half tempted to try just to see what she would do. Add his blood to the mix already coating her was his guess.

  A dangerous smile tickled the right corner of his mouth, but he mashed his lips flat again.

  “Give me ten minutes, and then you can get back to your mommy-approved evening of staring through the window at the clock tower across the street while you count down an appropriate amount of time before making your excuse to leave.”

  Head whipping toward the window, Rebecca gawked at the true reason he always asked for this table.

  None of his dates had ever noticed the setup, let alone the reason behind it, but Hadley had him figured out in under a minute.

  “I’ll be right back.” He tossed his napkin on his untouched plate and stood. “Where is…Snowball?”

  “Outside with Ford.” Nose wrinkling at the fancy trappings his mother insisted on, she gave the hostess a withering glare that made the woman shrivel in her stilettos. “This place has no patio. They don’t allow dogs. Can you believe that?”

  “I’ll be sure to leave them a bad Yelp review.”

  Her eyes lit for an instant, like he had finally hit on a topic that interested her, but she wiped off the expression when they reached the open floor space near the restrooms.

  “We have a problem.”

  Angling his body closer, he ducked his head and lowered his voice. “Another murder?”

  “I visited the Mendelsohn pack tonight. One of the Perkerson Park victims may very well be a seventeen-year-old by the name of Tammy, who ran away rather than let Deric touch her. I learned this from a girl named Jessica, who worried I might be bringing them bad news about her big sister. She wants out. We can help her now, or we can let her fall through the cracks. What will it be?”

  A knot twisted in his gut that wouldn’t release until he fixed this, but curiosity won out, and he acted as unaffected as the alpha herself might. “What are you suggesting I do about it?”

  The crackle of righteous fury in her eyes reminded him of the sky before lightning struck.

  “Nothing.” She met his gaze, held it. “I’ll let you get back to tapping your foot, I mean, your date.”

  Hadley turned to go, but he caught her by the arm, the feel of her skin electric.

  “You just said this girl is a warg, and that she’s underage. I have no claim on her. I can’t walk up to Mendelsohn and demand he hand her over, and I can’t go around stealing kids in the middle of the night.”

  “I can’t leave her there.” She didn’t pull away, she leaned in. “You didn’t see her. She’s sharing a tent with three or four other girls about her age. She’s protecting them since she couldn’t protect her sister.”

  “Why didn’t you take this to Linus? Your office has the resources to handle witness protection and relocation. You’ve done the same for other abuse survivors. Why is this girl different?” He didn’t mean to, but he tightened his grip, his intrigue stronger than his usual aversion to intimacy in any form. “Why did you come to me?”

  “You volunteer at women’s shelters. You teach them self-defense. You care.”

  Uncertain how he felt about her referencing his atonement like a virtue, he asked, “Are you saying Linus doesn’t?”

  “He cares, probably too much, but this isn’t going to be his city forever.” Determination burned in her gaze. “Atlanta will be mine one day, and I’m not going to stand for this. Your pack is our office’s closest ally. I don’t know how to stay on the right side of the law for this, but I also don’t think I care.”

  The last part rattled her. She hadn’t meant to say it. But she had. To him. She…trusted him.

  “I’ll make some calls to shelters with experience dealing with shifter kids.” He searched her face. “Mendelsohn can’t do a damn thing if those kids leave of their own free will. Runaway is not the same as kidnapped. Prove they’re at risk in their home environment, and I’ll make sure no one can touch them.”

  A smile flirted with the corners of her mouth, and she exhaled with relief. “Thanks.”

  Noticing he still held her arm, he forced his hand open. “Give me your phone.”

  “I get that you’re the alpha-to-be, but you’ve got to work on your manners.”

  In danger of returning her smile, he growled, “Please give me your phone.”

  She handed it over then smirked while he added himself as a contact. “I feel so special.”

  “Maybe next time you’ll call first.”

  “Next time I’ll have your number so I can call first.”

  Shaking his head, he returned her cell. “I have to get back to dinner.”

  “Five bucks says you don’t remember your date’s name.”

  “Rebecca,” he said dryly. “Where’s my five bucks?”

  “Darn.” She snapped her fingers. “I don’t have any cash on me.”

  “Don’t gamble with what you don’t have.”

  “Ford wants to come over for a movie night.” Wariness pinched her delicate features before she smoothed them. “I could put that five toward a pizza if you’re interested in joining us.”

  Ford was doing the job Midas had recruited him for last year, but all of a sudden it didn’t sit well.

  Nothing Hadley had said or done since arriving in Atlanta warranted the vague warning Lethe had given him about the POA’s new protégé. He had been willing to let it slide at the time, but he couldn’t afford to keep handling Hadley blind. He had to think of the pack first. His sister had relished the role of beta, had embraced the role of alpha. Her word carried weight with him, and he trusted her instincts.

  “Maybe next time.” He glanced toward the table and the impatient woman waiting on him. “Spend that five on Ford. He likes sausage and pepperoni with extra red onions.”

  “Maybe.” She shrugged off his rebuff. “Next time you might not get an invite.”

  She put a sway in her hips that hadn’t been there before and left him staring after her.

  Feeling eyes on him, he glanced out the front window and noticed Ford watching him watch her.

  Back at his table, Rebecca made it clear she had seen him too.

  “You’ve shown that woman more interest in ten minutes than you’ve shown me all night.” Her hands bunched the tablecloth. “Am I wasting my time?”

  “Yes,” he answered honestly, making a fist beneath the table to hold on to the feel of Hadley, the sensation as bizarre as his…not attraction. Fascination? “You knew that already.”

  Eight

  Out on the street, Ford waited with Bonnie. I wasn’t sure how much, if anything, he had overheard from my conversation with Midas, but he studied me with an intensity that left my nape tingling. Or maybe that had more to do with the beta I had left in my dust.

  Midas had given me food for thought, and I was chewing over his reservations about us helping the girl. Now that my temper had cooled, I could admit more information was required before any action was taken. Since I had a prime resource who could do the digging for me, I texted Bishop the request for a background check on Jessica.

  “We’ve got time to hit the Clairmonts before we call it a night,” I told Ford on my way past. “Let’s knock them out of the suspect pool.” I shrugged. “Or into it.”

  Bonnie trotted over, happy to ditch Ford, and I bent to pick up the leash she manifested on the spot. She surprised me by rearing up on my arm to give the place where Midas touched me a good sniff before shooting me a knowing look through narrowed eyes.

  “Whatever it is you’re thinking, stop right now.” I stood under Ford’s watchful gaze. “What?”

  “I don’t get it,” he admitted. “This thing between you and Midas.”

  “What thing?” I felt my palms go damp. “There is no thing.”

  “You ran straight to him,” Ford said, a slight edge in his tone. “And he…let you.”

  “Kids are in danger. Girls. From what I have no issue calling a sexual predator. What kind of man would Midas be if he shrugged that off?” Aware I had ruffled Ford’s feathers, I attempted to smooth them. “If it makes you feel any better, he blew me off when I invited him to our movie night.”

  Glossing over the fact I had invited another guy in the first place, he grinned from ear to ear. “So, we’re on?”

  “Looks that way.” I scratched behind Bonnie’s ear. “How do you feel about pizza?”

  Ford shook his head over me treating her like a dog. “Me or her?”

  “I meant Bonnie.” I straightened. “I already know you like it, and how you like it.”

  He glanced through the window at Midas, but he didn’t say another word, just pointed across the street.

  “That’s their building?” I hadn’t paid attention to the street signs on the way over. “How convenient.”

  The poshest wargs in the city would want to be close to the poshest restaurants and retailers.

  We hit the crosswalk and approached a tasteful entrance guarded by an unobtrusive doorman.

  “Ms. Clairmont has been expecting you,” he said in a bass rumble. “Check in at the desk, please.”

  Two out of three doormen found me perfectly tolerable. This was proof, in my opinion, that the nightshift doorman at the Faraday had it out for me. Thank the goddess I would be back to using the window as my front door soon.

  “Thank you.” I led Bonnie through the door he held for us. I walked straight to the counter where a young man sat with a guest book flipped to a blank page. “Hadley Whitaker for Ayla Clairmont.”

  “Sign here, please.” He indicated the topmost line with a pen more expensive than my shoes. Though, to be fair, odds were his pen didn’t have to walk through blood or other bodily fluids. He could afford to invest in something nice while I had to go for practical, borderline disposable. I took it from him, admiring its weight, and made my mark. “Take the elevator on your left to the sixth floor. Those are our office suites. Ms. Clairmont will see you in room 612.”

  The camera in the elevator was obvious, so neither of us spoke on the ride. The hallway we entered was minimalist but elegant, lots of grays and blacks and whites. A door was open at the far end, and I heard a woman’s voice carrying on a one-sided conversation. She hung up the landline phone when she spotted me in the doorway and waved us in.

  Ayla was curvy in a way that made men drool, and she dressed like a woman who didn’t mind using her breasts to get who or what she wanted out of life.

  I glanced down at the uniboob my sports bra gave me under my tee and debated if my job would be easier if I wore leather and flashed cleavage. Probably not. Goddess only knows what I would come home with stuck between and under them.

  “Hadley.” She gestured me toward a seat opposite hers. “I haven’t seen you in months. How’s training?”

  “I can’t complain.” I sat and didn’t fuss when Ford took point behind me. Bonnie paced in the doorway, giving the impression she was on patrol, which was too cute for words. “How’s alphaing?”

  Her throaty laugh came off as genuine, a neat trick. “I can’t complain either.”

  “Your doorman informed me I was expected,” I said lightly.

  “I heard you visited the Loups and Mendelsohn. I assumed I would be next and made Deon aware.”

  “Where did you hear it from, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  “Here and there.” She spread her hands. “I have my sources.”

  Most factions had lost interest in me after the first few months, but Ford joining me for this investigation had shoved me back into the spotlight.

  There would be those in power looking to pick apart my candidacy over this. I would get spanked for preferential treatment if I didn’t spin it right, but I was in too deep to back out now.

  “In that case—” I kept my tone friendly, “—I’ll make an assumption about what your sources have told you and skip to the point. Do you know a woman named Shonda Randall?”

  “Don’t you mean did I know her?” She leaned forward and folded her hands on her desktop. “It’s my understanding she was murdered in a most gruesome fashion.” She cut her eyes toward Ford. “She was gwyllgi, I believe.”

  The Clairmonts, with their downtown location and more urbane outlooks, came off as soft. Compared to the other packs in the area, they were, but there were less obvious downsides to dealing with them than with Mendelsohn or the Loups. The Clairmonts’ distance from city center gave information time to find cracks to hide in. Ayla’s position made it easy for her to keep eyes and ears all over town.

  “All right.” I had tried playing dumb, but Ayla was too smart for it. “Let’s cut to the chase.”

  “Don’t stop on my account.” Her eyes twinkled with mirth. “I enjoy the game. Mr. Lawson does as well.”

  “You’ll have to forgive my ineptitude,” I said dryly. “I didn’t receive the same home training.”

  “Did any of us?” Her laughter invited me to join in. “His mother is the single most powerful and influential necromancer alive. Have you ever met her?”

  The edges of the room grew as warped and twisted as my memories of Clarice Lawson and her cronies.

  “The punishment for summoning is six months imprisonment. She must pay the tithe and serve her time.”

  “If she is unable to pay the tithe at the end of six months, her bond will be made available for purchase.”

  “She will remain a detainee of the Society until her debts are absolved.”

  Then, out of the darkness, walked…salvation.

  “There’s no hope of her paying the tithe. Let’s not pretend otherwise.” Linus folded his hands behind his back. “She has no priors, her record is spotless, and she has pursued an education tailored to providing valuable services to our community. All things considered, I propose a lucrative compromise that will please us all.”

  He hadn’t done it for me, not back then. Thinking who had inspired him to stand against his mother made me heartsick for a friend, a life, that was best forgotten, and I promised myself once he moved to Savannah full-time it would be.

  “No,” I said hoarsely. “I haven’t had the pleasure.”

  “Probably for the best,” she decided. “You don’t want to end up on her bad side, or his for that matter.”

  Salvation is a rope you use to climb out of despair. Darkness presses in on all sides, leaves your arms shaking and your chest heaving. Every inch you gain is a battle won, but still, below you yawns the void. Every inch gained can also be lost. Your arms can shake until they falter, and your chest can heave until it quits. Salvation doesn’t walk, it pokes and prods and demands you put in the work.

  Cast in that light, the POA hadn’t saved me so much as he had given me the tools to save myself.

  “The truth is,” Ayla started, “we’re missing three pack members. All disappeared over the last week. All female. A chef, a realtor, and an artist. All were last seen in the company of a man.” She angled her head toward me. “We knew you visited Mendelsohn because we have friends there who mentioned your visit.”

  More like spies, paid to keep tabs on the pack and report interesting tidbits to Ayla.

  Prepared to be impressed if she said yes, I asked, “You infiltrated the Loups too?”

  “Infiltration wasn’t required.” Her smile turned coy. “I pay a flat rate for information pertinent to me.”

  Yet another reason why I doubted Garou or his Loups were involved. He received money to perform heinous acts, but he would sell out the previous buyer if a new one with deeper pockets came along. He was a businessman, and he would always take the better deal, loyalties be damned.

  “We crosschecked the dates our missing persons were reported against Mendelsohn’s schedule. They’re a match. They coincide with visits he made to the city.”

  Aware she was dragging it out, turning it into a power play, I asked, “What was he doing in the city?”

 

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